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Mandel v. SEIU Local 73

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Mandel v. SEIU Local 73
Case number: 1:18-cv-08385
Status: Pending before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Important dates
Filed: December 21, 2018
District court decision: Pending
Appeals court decision:
District court outcome
Pending

This case is one of over a hundred public-sector union lawsuits Ballotpedia tracked following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2018 decision in Janus v. AFSCME. These pages were updated through February 2023 and may not reflect subsequent case developments. For more information about Ballotpedia's coverage of public-sector union policy in the United States, click here. Contact our team to suggest an update.

Mandel v. SEIU Local 73 was filed on December 21, 2018, and is pending before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The plaintiff argued that the union dues authorization contract he signed before Janus v. AFSCME was unenforceable because he was compelled to either join the union or pay non-member fair-share fees, in violation of his First Amendment rights.[1]

HIGHLIGHTS
  • The parties to the suit: The plaintiff is Erich Mandel. The defendants are Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 73 and Community Consolidated School District 15.
  • The issue: Are union dues authorization contracts signed before Janus still enforceable?
  • The presiding judge(s): Judge Martha Pacold was assigned to the case. Pacold was appointed to the court in 2019 by President Donald Trump (R).
  • The outcome: This lawsuit is pending before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

    • Procedural history

    The plaintiff is Erich Mande. He is represented by Liberty Justice Center. The defendants are SEIU Local 73 and Community Consolidated School District 15. SEIU Local 73 is represented by Altshuler Berzon LLP and Dowd, Bloch, Bennett, Cervone, Auerbach & Yokich. Community Consolidated School District 15 is represented by Hodges, Loizzi, Eisenhammer, Rodick & Kohn LLP.

    The plaintiff in Mandel v. SEIU Local 73 first filed his lawsuit on December 21, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Mandel alleged that, after the Supreme Court of the United States' ruling in Janus v. AFSCME, he attempted to resign union membership but was prevented from resigning outside of an opt-out window at the anniversary date of hiring. Mandel argued that the union dues authorization he signed before Janus was unenforceable because he was compelled to either join the union or pay non-member fair-share fees. Mandel asked the court to award damages against SEIU for all union dues collected during his employment, arguing that his First Amendment rights were violated.

    • December 21, 2018: The plaintiff filed a complaint against all defendants.
    • January 25, 2019: Defendant Community Consolidated School District 15 filed an answer to the complaint, arguing that they acted in good faith under the law at the time of collection. Additionally, the District filed a cross-claim against SEIU Local 73, arguing that the indemnification clause in the collective bargaining agreement held the District harmless for any dues collected erroneously and that SEIU Local 73 was solely responsible in the case where the plaintiff recovered damages.
    • January 28, 2019: Defendant SEIU Local 73 filed an answer to the complaint, arguing that Mandel voluntarily joined the union and that because SEIU Local 73 had since accepted Mandel’s resignation request and refunded dues withdrawn after this request, his claims were moot.
    • June 11, 2019: Mandel filed a motion for summary judgment.
    • July 9, 2019: The defendants filed motions for summary judgment.
    • February 13, 2020: The court denied all motions for summary judgment.

    For a list of available case documents, click here.


    Decision

    A decision is pending in Mandel v. SEIU Local 73


    Legal context

    Janus v. AFSCME (2018)

    See also: Janus v. AFSCME

    On June 27, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a 5-4 decision in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (Janus v. AFSCME), ruling that public-sector unions cannot compel non-member employees to pay fees to cover the costs of non-political union activities.[2]

    This decision overturned precedent established in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education in 1977. In Abood, the high court held that it was not a violation of employees' free-speech and associational rights to require them to pay fees to support union activities from which they benefited (e.g., collective bargaining, contract administration, etc.). These fees were commonly referred to as agency fees or fair-share fees.[2]

    Justice Samuel Alito authored the opinion for the court majority in Janus, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch. Alito wrote, "Abood was poorly reasoned. It has led to practical problems and abuse. It is inconsistent with other First Amendment cases and has been undermined by more recent decisions. Developments since Abood was handed down have shed new light on the issue of agency fees, and no reliance interests on the part of public-sector unions are sufficient to justify the perpetuation of the free speech violations that Abood has countenanced for the past 41 years. Abood is therefore overruled."[2]

    Related litigation

    To view a complete list of the public-sector labor lawsuits Ballotpedia tracked between 2019 and 2023, click here.

    Number of federal lawsuits by circuit

    Between 2019 and 2023, Ballotpedia tracked 191 federal lawsuits related to public-sector labor laws. The chart below depicts the number of suits per federal judicial circuit (i.e., the jurisdictions in which the suits originated).

    Public-sector labor lawsuits on Ballotpedia

    See also: Public-sector union policy in the United States, 2018-2023

    Click show to view a list of cases with links to our in-depth coverage.

    v • e
    Public-sector labor lawsuits
    Federal lawsuits

    Adams v. Teamsters Union Local 429 • Akers v. Maryland State Education Association • Aliser v. SEIU California • Allen v. Ohio Civil Service Employees Association • Allen v. Santa Clara County Correctional • Anderson v. SEIU Local 503 • Babb v. California Teachers Association • Baisley v. International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers • Belgau v. Inslee • Bennett v. AFSCME • Bermudez v. SEIU Local 521 • Bierman v. Dayton • Boudreaux v. Louisiana State Bar • Boyle v. SEIU California • Brice v. California Faculty Association • California v. Azar • Campos v. Fresno Deputy Sheriff’s Association • Carey v. Inslee • Casanova v. IAM Local 701 • Chandavong et al. v. Fresno Deputy Sheriff's Association et al. • Cook v. Brown • Cooley v. California Statewide Law Enforcement Association • Crowe v. Oregon State Bar • Cruz v. Union Independiente Autentica de Empleados de la Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados • Danielson v. Inslee • Diamond v. Pennsylvania State Education Association • Doughty v. State Employees Association of New Hampshire, SEIU, Local 1984 • Durst v. OEA • Few v. United Teachers Los Angeles • File v. Hickey • Fischer v. Murphy • Fisk v. Inslee • Fizer v. Ohio Association of Public School Employees • Fleck v. Wetch • Grega v. Council of New Jersey State College Locals • Grossman v. Hawaii Government Employees Association • Gruber v. Oregon State Bar • Guppy v. City of Los Angeles • Halloran v. AFSCME Council 5 • Hamidi v. SEIU • Hannay v. Kent State • Hartnett v. Penn. State Education Association • Hendrickson v. AFSCME Council 18 • Hernandez v. AFSCME California • Hoekman v. Education Minnesota • Hough v. SEIU Local 521 • Imhoff v. California Teachers Association • Jackson v. Napolitano • James v. SEIU Local 688 • Janus v. AFSCME • Jarchow v. Wisconsin • Kabler v. United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 1776 Keystone State • Wenzig v. SEIU Local 668 • Kopie v. International Federation of Professional and Technical Employees • Kurk v. Los Rios Classified Employees Association • Lamberty et al. v. Connecticut State Police Union et al. • LaSpina v. SEIU Pennsylvania State Council • Lee v. Ohio Education Association • Leitch v. AFSCME • Littler v. Ohio Association of Public School Employees • Loescher v. Teamsters Local 320 • Lutter v. JNESO • Mandel v. SEIU Local 73 • Marsh v. AFSCME Local 3299 • Martin v. California Teachers Association • Masuo v. AFSCME AFL-CIO • Matthews v. United Teachers of Los Angeles • Mattos v. AFSCME Council 3 • Mayer v. Wallingford-Swathmore School District • McCain v. Ventura County Federation of College Teachers, AFT Local 1828 • McCollum v. NEA-Alaska • McCutcheon v. CWA Local 7076 • McDonald v. Firth • Mendez v. CTA • Miller v. Inslee • Misja v. PSEA • Molina v. SEIU Local 668 • Mooney v. Illinois Education Association • Nearman v. SEIU Local 503 • Neely v. AFSCME Council 13 • Nguyen v. Admin. and Residual Employees Union • Nichols v. Home Care Providers Union • O'Callaghan v. Drake • Ochoa v. Public Consulting Group • Ocol v. Chicago Teachers Union • Ogle v. Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, AFSCME, Local 11 • Oliver v. SEIU Local 668 • Pellegrino v. New York State United Teachers • Penning v. SEIU Local 1021 • Polk v. Yee • Popp v. ALPAI • Piekarski v. AFSCME Council 5 • Quirarte v. UDW AFSCME Local 3930 • Reisman v. Associated Faculties of the University of Maine • Rizzo-Rupon v. International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, District Lodge 141 • Routh v. Inslee • Schaszberger v. AFSCME Council 13 • Schell v. Oklahoma Supreme Court Justices • Schumaker v. Inslee • Seager v. UTLA • Seidemann v. Professional Staff Congress • Smith v. AFSCME Council No. 8 • Smith v. New Jersey Education Association • Smith v. Bieker • Solomon v. AFSCME District Council 37 • Stroeder v. Service Employees International Union, Local 503 • Sweeney v. Raoul • Sweet v. California Association of Psychiatric Technicians • Taylor v. Heath • Thompson v. AFSCME Council 89, Local 4013 • Thompson v. Marietta Education Association • Thulen v. AFSCME • Uradnik v. Inter Faculty Org. • Utke v. University of Connecticut American Association of University Professors • Weyandt v. PSCOA • Wholean v. CSEA SEIU Local 2001 • Wilford v. National Education Association • Williams v. PSEA • Wolf v. University Professional & Technical Employees • Yates v. Hillsboro Unified School District • Yohn v. California Teachers Association

    See also

    External links

    Case documents

    Trial court

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Liberty Justice Center, “Complaint,” accessed May 12, 2020
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Supreme Court of the United States, Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31, et al., June 27, 2018
    v • e
    Public-sector union policy in the United States
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